Page 30 of Learn Your Lesson

Blessedly, the conversation turned from their man-hating comments to them asking how school was, and filling me in on the latest gossip from the Bingo hall. After about a half hour, I started wrapping up the call with the excuse that I wanted to finish getting unpacked and get some sleep for school the next day.

I knew they were worried about me. I knew, even if they didn’t say it outright, that there was a part of them worried I was going to get myself into trouble.

But I’d show them. I’d make them proud.

I would save money. I would pay off my own student loans. And I’d save to provide for myself even long after this job came to an end, if that was what happened.

I didn’t know why their approval meant so much to me, and tried not to dwell on it as we ended the call. I was exhausted by the time we finally did, and once I was as unpacked as I needed to be, I climbed into my new cloud-like bed with a sigh…

And proceeded to sleep only a couple hours before I was wide awake again.

This was normal for me. It didn’t matter how comfortable the bed was. As soon as I woke up to use the bathroom, my brain would start racing.

I knew the key to getting myself back to sleep. I needed to go for a little walk around the house and eat a snack. Unfortunately, I hadn’t brought any groceries with me, and hadn’t shopped for myself yet. Chef Patel was already spoiling me, making it so I didn’thaveto worry about meals.

The bottle of wine Maven had brought over was tempting, but the last thing I needed was a hangover or to still be drunk on my first morning officially working for Will. And sadly, cheese wasn’t going to cure my sweet tooth right now, either.

Throwing my robe over my pajamas, I quietly tiptoed out of the pool house and walked around the pool a few times, the January air cool against my hot cheeks. I smiled at the safety gate surrounding the gorgeous pool. Of course, Will had thought of that, of protecting Ava even if it meant disrupting what most interior designers would claim as the “aesthetic.” He was a father first, above everything.

It was quite unfair how hot that was.

My stomach kept growling as I paced, appetite insistent on me finding some sugar. I was debating digging through my purse to see if I had peanut butter crackers stashed in there when the light to the kitchen in the main house flicked on, casting a warm glow over the pool.

I saw Will’s shadow next, and I smiled, making my way to the sliding glass door. He’d left it unlocked in case I needed to get inside for anything, but he still jumpeda little when I slid it open, his hand gripping the fridge handle tight as he whipped around.

He relaxed a bit when he realized it was me, though the way his scowl deepened didn’t do anything to ease my late-night anxiety. The sigh he let out next as he pulled a gallon of milk from the fridge didn’t exactly make me feel welcome, either.

The man was harder to figure out than the sewing method for a Victorian bustle dress.

Hewas the one who asked me to move in.Hewas the one who said he wanted this. And yet, all weekend, he’d grumped about like I was the biggest inconvenience.

“Ah, we meet again,” I teased as I slid inside the kitchen, taking my familiar spot at the island. “Only this time, you’re not coming home from an away game. Don’t tell me you have midnight existential crises, too?”

Will harrumphed, giving me a look before he grabbed a glass from the cabinet. He held one toward me in a silent question, his eyebrow raised, but I shook my head.

“I’m more of a snack girl at this time of night,” I said. “Got any cookies?”

Will stared at me for a long moment before plucking a pack of Oreos from the pantry. He slid it in front of me, and I let out a very unladylike groan of approval before ripping the packaging open and popping one into my mouth.

“So,” I said when Will just shook his head at me. “Are you changing your mind now that I’m here?”

He frowned. “Of course not. Why would you ask that?”

“Oh, only because you’ve been alternating between giving me death glares and stomping around here like a grumpy bear the last two days,” I said with a shrug, plucking another cookie from the package. I debated dunking it inhis milk, but thought it would be better to keep my hand in tact since I had to teach in the morning.

Will let out a sigh, staring at the glass in his hands before taking a small sip. “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s not you, it’s just…”

He fell silent, his jaw working like he was chewing on the words he wasn’t sure how to say.

When his eyes slid back up to meet mine, they were laced with sorrow, with a vulnerability that nearly made me choke on the cookie I’d half-swallowed.

“You have no idea how hard this has all been for me.”

He didn’t have to elaborate on whatthismeant. It was written in every line of his face.

This poor guy had been battling being a single father, on top of a high-performance athlete, all while flipping through a catalogue of sorry excuses for nannies who only added to his stress.

My bet was he was wondering how long I’d last, wondering how long he could count on me before he’d be back to square one.